Philippines to prosecute parents of child soldiers

In the Philippines a proposed new law would prosecute parents whose children are drafted into armed conflict as child soldiers. It’s believed there are thousands of child soldiers in the country, but there are concerns that the new law will criminalise parents whose children fall prey to militants.

ELIZABETH JACKSON: In the Philippines a proposed new law would prosecute parents whose children are drafted into armed conflict as child soldiers.

It’s believed there are thousands of child soldiers in the country, but there are concerns that the new law will criminalise parents whose children fall prey to militants.

Our Southeast Asia Correspondent Zoe Daniel reports.

ZOE DANIEL: The scattered island geography of the Philippines makes it a hard place to police. Rebel factions exist up and down the country.

Patrick Halton is a child protection specialist with UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) in the Philippines.

PATRICK HALTON: There is conflict throughout the country, particularly in the south where the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has been fighting what has essentially been a separatist movement for the best part of four decades. And nationwide, including up in the mountains in the north and also in the east of the country, the New People’s Army, which is essentially the communist movement has also been fighting an insurgency for many years.

What that means is that there’s a lot of weapons around. A lot of people have small arms and light weapons in their home and gun laws are very lax. And children particularly have access and a lot of familiarity with weapons and arms like grenades and ammunition and that sort of thing.

ZOE DANIEL: The UN says there are probably thousands of child soldiers in the country. The organisation BIRTH-DEV (Balay Integrated Rehabilitation Center for Total Human Development) rehabilitates children involved in conflict. It works on the island of Mindanao, home to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Although a peace process with the MILF is underway, BIRTH-Dev’s director, Christina Lomoljo, says each child soldier had a role to play during the decades of conflict.

CHRISTINA LOMOLJO: Sometimes they’re also asked to clean the guns and also to cook and also run errands inside the home. There was a child that we come across that we come across, they were basically cooking inside one of the houses in the vicinity and yet they could hear the bombs being dropped, the change of bullets and the running, they can hear the shouting and screaming of the people running, trying to escape the situation.

So to me that’s the worst story that I hear from them. Like trying to do their work, trying to do their job and being in the middle of the fire fight.

ZOE DANIEL: The Special Protection of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict Bill is currently being considered by the Philippines government. Many aspects of the bill have been applauded, such as provisions for free legal aid and psychological counselling for child soldiers who break free.

But human rights organisations are concerned about a section of the bill that will penalise the parents of child soldiers.

Carlos Conde from Human Rights Watch in the Philippines.

CARLOS CONDE: There have been instances when minors – 17, 18 years old are recruited into armed groups without the knowledge let alone the permission of their parents and their guardians. So this law we think penalises these parents and guardians even if they don’t know or don’t approve of the sending of their children to armed groups.

If this becomes law with that provision that penalises parents and guardians we think this will be used to harass the families of these children and these minors. We think the military will use this as a tool, as a counter-insurgency tool to go after the New People’s Army or the Islamic rebels.

And parents and the guardians who may not have anything to do with the decision of children to become armed combatants, they will be penalised by this law and they will be targeted

ZOE DANIEL: Human Rights Watch and other organisations are calling for this section to be removed, before the bill becomes law.

This is Zoe Daniel for Correspondents Report.